Today we’d like to introduce you to Kyla Gonzales.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Growing up, my home and my family members’ homes were always full of plants. It was a staple of my childhood—from my mom’s, to my Grammy’s, to my aunt’s house! There would be plants hanging from every corner and on shelves throughout the house, and usually you would find a couple of tables or desks pushed together near a window, completely filled with all kinds of plants.
My mom was a single mother while I was growing up, so before the age of six, I would always be at my “Grammy’s” while my mom worked. My Grammy was the real plant lover and guru of the family. Before getting sick with cancer, she had held a caretaker role at a local floral/houseplant supplier—which is still around to this day—Platte Floral. Grammy had so many plants that every day she was either working in her house on her plants or working out in the garden, and I would be working alongside her. I believe this is where my love and natural knack for plants really started!
Fast forward to graduating high school and seeking a future in sustainability, I started college for Energy Management Technology and really dove into playing with plants. During that time, I had also gone back to volunteer for my high school’s Tree Huggers Club, and on top of it all, found a lifestyle committed to going green in many ways—I became a vegetarian. I look back at that time and how pivotal it was in getting me where I am today—still a vegetarian and trying to build a sustainable business!
During my early 20s, I found myself working for a large fine jeweler and retailer and was amazed by the heirlooms that would come in and the stories attached to them. Over time, I realized plants can carry stories in much the same way—whether it is a plant inherited from a grandparent, a cutting passed between friends, or simply a plant that has grown alongside someone through different seasons of their life. I believe there should be access to hands-on support to help plant owners care for those plants, whether it be through knowledge, preventive maintenance, or in an emergency. I wanted people to be able to access the support needed to make their plants heirlooms—stories that can be passed on for generations.
Cultiv8 Growth itself has actually grown with me. I have always been a bit of a serial entrepreneur, and I have had the Cultiv8 Growth LLC for close to eight years now. The name was always about development and personal growth and challenging people to “cultivate growth” in whatever area I was supporting them in. Over the years, that has looked like different things, from marketing and coaching to what has now become plant care and education!
Plants, however, were always there! For years, I naturally found myself taking on little jobs helping family and friends with their plants. I also spent time working professionally for a commercial plant care company, which gave me a ton of hands-on experience caring for large collections of plants. I loved the work, but that experience also helped me realize that I wanted Cultiv8 Growth to be different. I didn’t want to just water plants and move on to the next one. I wanted to CARE for the plants, help people understand them, and make professional plant care accessible to everyone—from someone with one sentimental houseplant to a business with an entire collection.
At the beginning of 2025, I found myself in a major personal transition. I had moved back to Colorado from another state, was finding my footing as a single mother again, and honestly wasn’t quite sure where I was going or what I was going to do. At the time, I had already been privately caring for the plants at a chiropractor’s office for a couple of years. She became one of the people who really pushed and encouraged me to put myself out there and let other people know that these were services I could offer. She encouraged me to take Cultiv8 Growth to a wellness expo, and I did!
From there, I started intentionally building the plant care side of Cultiv8 Growth into what it is today. Over my years of working with people and plants and trying to navigate my own purpose, I have found that supporting plants and aiming to keep them around for as long as possible has become a huge part of that purpose.
My name is Kyla, and my labor of love is to see the beauty in and provide the necessary nurturing to houseplants at all stages in life!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I definitely would not say it has been a smooth road! I think one of my biggest struggles has been balancing motherhood, building a business, and figuring out how to leverage my income enough to eventually make Cultiv8 Growth my full-time focus. At one point, I was balancing being a mom, running my business, and working multiple subcontracting positions at the same time. There have definitely been seasons of doing whatever I needed to do to keep moving forward while still trying to build toward the bigger picture.
Ironically enough, growth itself has probably been one of the hardest parts! As the demand for my services has grown, I have had to recognize that my own bandwidth can only stretch so far. When you are the person providing the service, answering the emails, creating the invoices, managing the schedule, posting on social media, building relationships, and also trying to actually grow the business, you quickly realize there are only so many hours in a day. Add being a mother into that mix, and prioritizing both the fun parts and the mundane parts of running a business can be really hard. Social media, for example, has accidentally fallen to the wayside more times than I would like to admit!
I am now at a point where I am learning how to subcontract more tasks out and leverage my time differently. That has been a learning experience in itself because I have always been someone who just figures out how to do things myself. I am learning that growing a business doesn’t necessarily mean figuring out how to personally do more and more—it means figuring out where my time is most valuable and allowing other people to support the areas that don’t always need me.
So no, it definitely has not been a smooth road, but I think that is also what “Cultiv8 Growth” has come to mean to me. Growth isn’t always comfortable or pretty. Sometimes it means recognizing what isn’t working, changing directions, asking for help, and learning as you go. I am definitely still learning as I grow!
We’ve been impressed with Cultiv8 Growth , but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The easiest way I have found to explain Cultiv8 Growth is, “If it involves houseplants, Cultiv8 Growth is on it—or we can probably do it!” We offer professional houseplant care for both homes and businesses, from ongoing plant maintenance and plant sitting to repotting, restoration, pest treatment, troubleshooting, and plant care coaching and education. But the other side of Cultiv8 Growth—and a huge part of how we have grown—is getting out into our community through plant pop-ups and events, where we sell houseplants, connect with other local businesses and plant lovers, and get to meet people wherever they are in their plant journey.
Our plant pop-ups and community events have also become a really important part of Cultiv8 Growth. Selling plants gives us an opportunity to do more than just send someone home with something pretty. I love being able to talk with people about what might actually work in their home, answer questions, share some education, and hopefully help them feel more confident about caring for what they take home. These events have allowed us to build relationships with other small businesses, connect directly with our community, and introduce people to the other side of Cultiv8 Growth that they may not have known existed.
Something I have been playing with as our new tagline is, “We put the CARE in plant care,” and I think that really sums up what I want Cultiv8 Growth to be known for. Sustainability is at the core of what we do. Our goal is to keep plants healthy and around for as long as possible, within a reasonable amount of time and resources. Sometimes that means ongoing preventive care, sometimes it means restoring a plant that has been struggling for years, and unfortunately, sometimes it means having an honest conversation that a plant may be beyond saving. That is still one of the hardest conversations for me to have. I care deeply about what I do, and I know firsthand how much sentiment can be attached to a plant. They can hold memories of people, places, milestones, and entire seasons of our lives.
I think that is also what sets our approach apart. We aren’t there just to water a plant and move on. We want to understand what that plant needs, care for what someone has already invested in, and educate our clients along the way. I want professional plant care to feel approachable, whether someone needs help with one incredibly sentimental plant or ongoing support managing an entire commercial plant collection.
What I am most proud of, though, is all of the plants AND people we have touched along the way while figuring out how Cultiv8 Growth can support the betterment of both. Some of my favorite moments aren’t necessarily the big jobs. They are the random texts I get from someone I helped six months ago showing me a picture of their plant and how well it is doing. Those messages give me more fuel than I can say because that is exactly what I want our impact to look like long after we leave someone’s home or business.
I have said that I want plant care to be accessible, but I also recognize that what we offer is a luxury service—and I am becoming more comfortable owning that. People invest a lot of money, time, energy, and love into their plants, and professional maintenance can help protect that investment. I don’t want people to feel like they can only call us when something is dying and it has become an emergency. I want to encourage preventive plant maintenance, especially for plant lovers who love their collections but simply don’t have the bandwidth to keep up with all of the heavy-duty maintenance that can come with houseplants—especially as those plants grow and age.
At the end of the day, we want to help people enjoy their plants for as long as possible. We put the CARE in plant care, and I really mean that.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
One of the things I love most about living and building a business in Colorado is how deeply nature is woven into our communities. From Colorado Springs to Denver and throughout the Front Range, we are incredibly fortunate to have access to parks, trails, open spaces, and organizations that are making real efforts toward sustainability and protecting the natural beauty around us. I love that there is already such a strong appreciation for getting outside, taking care of our environment, and finding ways to live a little more sustainably.
If I had to choose something I like least, I think it would actually be that I wish we did even more to help people connect with all of those resources! We have SO much available to us, but having access to nature and feeling invited or educated on how to engage with it can be two different things. I would love to see even more highly promoted community days, educational opportunities, family-friendly outdoor events, and programs that encourage people who may not naturally consider themselves “outdoorsy” to get outside and experience what Colorado has to offer.
I think that connects back to what I love about Cultiv8 Growth, too. Not everyone is going to climb a fourteener every weekend—and that’s okay! Sometimes connecting with nature can look like learning how to care for the pothos growing in your living room, starting a little garden with your kids, walking through a local park, or simply becoming more curious about the living things around you. I would love to see us continue finding ways to make that connection to nature feel welcoming and approachable for everyone.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cultiv8growth.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cultiv8_growth/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cultiv8growth
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cultiv8growth
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@cultiv8growth
